Slug casting machine



c. H. GRIFFITH SLUG CASTING-MACHINE Filed June 28, 1959 July 1, 1941.

IN VENT R ATT NEY Patented July 1, 1941* UNITED "STATES PATENT OFFICE Chauncey H. Griffith, New York, N. Y., assignor to Mergenthaler LinotypeiCompany, a corporation of N ew- York 7 Application June 28, 1939, Serial No. 281,513

( 01. 199-47) To this end, specifically, the face of the mouth- 17- Claims.

This invention relates to slug casting machines of the general organization represented in United States Letters Patent to O. Mergenthaler No. 436,532, wherein a composed line of matrices is presented before the front face of a slotted mold, the mouthpiece of a metal pot presented against the rear face of the mold, and molten metal injected from the metal pot through the mouthpiece into the mold, slot or ,cavity and up against the composed line of matrices to produce a. type bar or slug.

Inthese machines, the molds (usually four in number) are mounted on a rotatable disk, which isadjustable to bring any selected mold into use. During a machine cycle of operation, the disk is rotated periodically, first, through a quarter rotation to carry the active mold into casting position, and then after the slug has been cast, through a three-quarter rotation to bring the mold back to the slug ejecting .station. During the latter rotation, the cast slug is subjected to the action of a fixed knife arranged to trim the backs or bottom edges of the slug-s so that they will stand at the proper type height when sub-. 25

sequen tly assembled in a printing form.

Each mold comprises as usual a body portion, a cap portion, and a pair of intermediate liners, these latter being readily interchangeable with other liners to vary the dimensions of the slot according to the size or length of the slug to be cast. pt. or above), the cap portion of the mold is ordinarily formed with fore-and-aft core meme bers to produce slugs of the so-called skeleton type, i. e. slugs having an overhanging character bearing portion supported by vertical ribs cast on one side of the body portion. In practice, it has been found that when slugs of this sort solidifyin the mold, the supporting ribs shrink inwardly from the rear face of the mold, the distance varying with the size of the slug. In consequence, althoughthe slugs are subjected to the action of the back trimming knife, the height of the supporting ribs in many cases is substantially less than the height of the body portion, or in other words of less than type height, and as a result the slugs tend to tilt or cant when they are assembled in a. printing form.

In accordance with the present invention, means are provided for producing skeleton slugs wherein the height cfthe supporting ribs for the character bearing portion will always be the same ,as the height of the body portion of the slug, or in other words of proper type height.

piece is provided with one or more horizontal grooves so located that when the mouthpiece is presented against the rear face of themold they extend across the fore-and-aft formed grooves between the core members of the cap portion. By this arrangement, when the slug is cast, "lugs which project beyond the rear face of the'mold are formed on the feet or bottom edges of the supporting ribs, these lugs being high enough to leave the supporting ribs of greater than type height even after whatever shrinkage may take place. Thereafter, as the mold disk rotates to carry the mold from the slug casting to the slug ejecting station,the lugs or excrescences thus formed on the supporting ribs are trimmed down to the same height as the body portion or to proper type height.

For a more complete description of the invention, reference may be made to the accompanying drawing. In this drawing, however, the invention has been shown merely in preferred form and by way of example, but obviously many changes and variations may be made therein and in its mode of application, which will still be comprised within its spirit. It should, therefore, be understood that the invention is not In casting slugs of the larger sizes (14 limited to any specific form or embodiment, except-insofar as such limitations are specified-in the claims.

Referring to the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a side'view of a portion of a slug casting ,ma'chine, showing in section the mold, pot mouthpiece and composed line in casting relation, themolddisk being broken away to expose the back trimming knife;

Fig. 2 is a perspective View of a slug cast and trimmedv in accordance with the present invention; I

Figs. :3 and 4 illustrate the difference between theoldand the new type of slug, Fig. 3 being an end .view of an old type of slug, and Fig. 4 being anend viewof the new type of slug;

Fig. 5 is a front elevation of the mold and mouthpieceillustrated in Fig. 1, the mold being broken away to more clearly illustrate the form and arrangement of parts; and

Fig. 6- is a sectional view of the metal pot mouthpiece detached, the ,view being takenalong line 6-6 of Fig. 5.

In the operation of these machines, ,a composed line of matrices Ill after composition is transferredinto a .so-called first elevator or line transporter H which immediately descends ,to

positiontheline-before the face of a slotted mold 1 I the front face of the mold.

1 I2 mounted on a rotatable disk I3, the latter I having been given a quarter rotation to carry the mold into casting position. The mold disk 1 is then advanced to bring the front face of the mold into contact with the composed line of 3 matrices, and a metal pot 22 is thereafter rocked 1 forwardly about its pivotal axis to press the mouthpiece-I4 t ereof against the rear face of j the mold I2 and so establish a metal tight lockup between the parts. locked-up, molten metal is injected by a pump g 1 (not shown) from the metal pot 22 through the mouthpiece I4, into the mold slot or cavity I5 1 and against the composed line I0 to fo-rmatype i bar or slug whose characterscorrespond with j the intaglio characters of the matrices. 1 the slug has been cast, the metal pot andthe 1 mold disk -I3 recede and the mold disk'l3' is given a three-quarter rotation to carry the moldji' When the parts are thus After I2 to the ejecting station, where the slug is forced out of the mold through a pair of trim mingknives (not shown) During this latter operation, the slugis subject to the "action'of a j fixed knife I6 secured to the mold slide I'I-and arranged to trim the hacker bottom edges of the I slugs to insure that the slugs will stand at proper type height when they are subsequently assem= bled in aprinting-formr I In the embodiment of the invention illustrated, the active mold is of the sort ordinarily I employed for casting slugs of the head letter or j display variety-(l4'pt. or above), and it" comprises'a body portion Il which defines one side face of the slug as cast; a cap portion I8 which j defines the opposite side face of the slug as cast,

and'a pair of intermediate'liners I9 which defrom thebody portion I1 and terminate short of The mouthpiece I4 is secured to the metal pot I 22- by-screws 23 so that it can be-replaced, and

as usual it-isprovidedwith a plurality-of-horizontally aligned holes 24, through which the 1 molten metal is-forced into the mold cavity I5, and with a plurality of interposed-vertical grooves or vents 25 of limited lengthto provide for the escape of air from themold cavi'ty-I5 l as the molten metal is injected. I known, theholes 24 are so'located inthemouth- [piece I4 that the molten rmetal is forced-into the-mold II-slightly above the casting face of the mold body I! or into the space formed be- 1 tween said body and the core members 2I,- since 7 5 this part of the mold cavity isopen to themflow of molten metal throughout the entire length of the mold regardless of the size- 0f the slug to be cast. As the molten metal is forced jinto the mold, it flushesv upwardly and then solidifies to form a slug havinga character bear- 1 ing portion 21, a body portion 26, and vertical l supporting ribs 28.- As before stated, as the: slug solidifies, the supporting ribs 28 shrink inwardly --As is l well from the rear face'o'f the mold, due; itf is believed,-to'the absorption ofheat therefromzby the slower coolingbody and character'bearing portions 26, 21 and thus fail to stand at full manner heretofore-explained, theheight oftthe i supporting ribs 28 instead of being uniform; and

equal to the height of the body portion 26 after the slugs are ejected from the mold decreases gradually from one side of the slug to the other with the result that the slugs tend to tilt or cant when assembled and locked in a printing form.

According to the present invention, this difficulty is obviated by providing the mouthpiece l4 with a plurality of horizontal grooves 29 equal in length to the length of the longest mold cavity (say, 50 ems) and arranged in superposed relationship above the usual vents 25. The grooves- 29 are so located and spaced that, when the lockup is completed, one or another of them will be positioned immediately below the level of the casting fa'ceofthe cap portion I8 when the mold cavity I5 is adjusted to cast a skeleton slug of astandard. point size. For example, in the embodiment illustrated, the front face of the mouthpiece I4 is provided with three grooves, the lowermost groove being so located that it will bepositioned immediately below the level'of the casting face of the cap portion I8 when an 18' pt. slug "is to be cast, the intermediate groove being-located'so that it will be similarly positioned when a 24 pt. slug is to be cast, and the uppermost groove being so'located that it will be thus positioned when a 36 'pt. slug is to be cast. In the-last-mentioned instance,'of course, "and as' shown in-thedrawi'ng, all three grooves will be effective Thegrooves 29 are blind to the direct passage of molten metal from the mouth piece I I but those which are positioned below the level of the casting face of the ca'pportion I8 when the lock-up is completed will extend across therear of the grooves between the foreand-aft core members 'ZI and so become filled with molten metal during the slug casting operationv Due, however, to'the elevated temperatures at which the mouthpiece I4 is maintained 'and to the slight'amount of metal contained in takes place during the metalcongealing period or'such that the lugs 32 after shrinkage yvill extend beyond the rear, face of the mold which determines. the base trim line-of the final slug. After, casting and as the mold ;disk --I3 rotates to-carry the mold I2, and the1cast slug to the ejecting station, ,the lugs 32 are'trirnmed; down by the knife I6 to the. Same height as the body portion 26 or to proper type height. -In consequence,-when the slugs ,SQcast and trimmed are subsequently assembled in' a printing form, their bottom "edges areperfectlysquare (see 4) and they cannot tilt or cant in the objectionable manner of the old type of" slug shown in Y In the present embodiment of the invention, the grooves 29 are shown as being all of the same depth since such an arrangement produces satisfactory results and -pr esents a simple problem of manufacture; If desired-, however} the depth of thegrooves may 'be'varied to correspond with; the gradual reduction in the heightof the supporting ribs 28" due. to shrinkage and so that the lugs 32 cast on the ribs will "all project exactly the same distance beyond therear' face of the mold I2 after. the casting and before the trimming operation. Moreoveninste'ad of being continuous as herein shown, the grooves i 29 might be made of discontinuous-form" such, for example, as to provide separate sets of lug forming recesses, one set for each rib'foi'ming groove in the mold cap. Indeed, for a mold of a given length, two sets of lug forming recesses wouldsufiice, one for each of the rightmost and leftmost rib forming grooves. These and. other modifications of the invention will be obvious to those skilled in the art.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. In a slug casting machine, the combination of a slotted mold of the kind adapted to cast a ribbed slug, and a metal pot having a mouthpiece to contact the rear face of the mold, said mouthpiece being formed in its mold contacting face with a nonventing recess to produce on the ribbed portion of the slug lugs which project beyond the rear face of the mold.

2. In a slug casting machine, the combination of a slotted mold having a cap portion formed with depending core members separated by foreand-aft grooves to cast a ribbed slug, and a metal pot having a mouthpiece formed with a horizontal row of metal discharge holes opening into the mold cavity in the space below the core members, said mouthpiece being formed in its mold contacting face with a horizontal groove located above the metal discharge holes in position to extend across the rear ends of the grooves which separate the core members so as to produce on the ribbed portion of the slug lugs which extend beyond the rear face of the mold.

3. In a slug casting machine, the combination of a slotted mold having a cap portion formed with depending core members separated by foreand-aft grooves to cast a ribbed slug, and a metal pot having a mouthpiece formed with a horizontal row of metal discharge holes opening into the mold cavity in the space below the core members, said mouthpiece being formed in its mold contacting face with a plurality of superposed horizontal grooves located above the metal discharge holes in position to extend across the rear ends of the grooves which separate the core members so as to produce on the ribbed portion of the slug lugs which extend beyond the rear face of the mold.

4. In a slug casting machine, the combination of a slotted mold of the kind adapted to cast a ribbed slug, said mold being movable from casting to ejecting position, a metal pot having a mouthpiece to contact the rear face of the mold, said mouthpiece being formed in its mold contacting face with a recess to produce on the ribbed portion of the slug lugs which project beyond the rear face of the mold, and means for trimming the projecting lugs flush with the rear face of the mold as the latter moves from casting to ejecting position.

5. In a slug casting machine, the combination of a slotted mold of the kind adapted to cast a ribbed slug, said mold being mounted on a rotatable disk which carries the mold from casting to ejecting position, a metal pot having a mouthpiece to contact the rear face of the mold, said mouthpiece being formed in its mold contacting face with a recess to produce on the ribbed portion of the slug lugs which project beyond the rear face of the mold, and a relatively fixed knife-pa'st'which the slug is carried as the mold is moved from casting to ejecting position, said knife acting to trim the projecting lugs flush with the rear face of the mold.

6-. The-method of producing a ribbed type bar or slug of true type height, which consists in casting the slug with ribs of greater height than its' 'body portion and thereafter trimmingthe base :of the slug to bring it to proper type height.

'7. The method of producing a ribbed type bar or slug of true type height, which consists in casting the slug with ribs of greater height than its body portion and thereafter trimming the base of the slug to bring the ribs flush with the body portion.

8. A type bar or slug of the ribbed variety, wherein the bottom edges of the ribs are trimmed flush with the bottom edge of the body portion to prevent canting or tilting of the slug when assembled in a printing form.

9. A type bar or slug of the ribbed variety, wherein the ribs are formed at their bottom edges with depending lugs trimmed flush with the bottom edge of the body portion to prevent canting or tilting of the slug when assembled in a printing form.

10. In or for a slug casting machine, a metal pot mouthpiece having a metal discharge passage and formed in its mold contacting face with a horizontally disposed groove distinct from said metal discharge passage and arranged to open directly into the mold cavity but otherwise closed to the atmosphere during casting, as and for the purpose described.

11. In or for a slug casting machine, a metal pot mouthpiece having a metal discharge Passage and formed in its mold contacting face with a plurality of superposed horizontally disposed grooves distinct from said metal discharge passage and arranged to open directly into the mold cavity but otherwise closed to the atmosphere during casting, as and for the purpose described.

12. In or for a slug casting machine, a metal pot mouthpiece having a metal discharge passage and formed in its mold contacting face with a plurality of superposed horizontally disposed grooves distinct from said metal discharge passage, said grooves being so positioned that one or another of them will be located immediately below the level of the casting face of the cap portion of the mold and thus open directly into the mold cavity when a slug of standard point size is to be cast.

13. In or for a slug casting machine, a metal pot mouthpiece having a metal discharge passage and formed in its mold contacting face with a horizontally disposed groove distinct from said metal discharge passage and of a length equal to that of the longest mold cavity with which it is to be used and arranged to open directly into said cavity.

14. In or for a slug casting machine, a metal pot mouthpiece having a metal discharge passage and formed in its mold contacting face with a plurality of superposed horizontally disposed grooves distinct from said metal discharge passage and of equal depth and arranged to open directly into the mold cavity but otherwise closed to the atmosphere during casting.

15. In or for a slug casting machine, a metal pot mouthpiece having a metal discharge passage and. formed. in its mold contacting face with a plurality of superposed horizontally disposed grooves distinct from said metal discharge passage and of equal depth and of a length equal to 3 that ,of the longest'mold'cavity with whichit l is to be used and arranged to open directly into said cavity. 1 r

16. In or for a slug casting machine, a metal 217,111 or for a slug casting machine, a metal pot mouthpieceof the kind having metal dischargeholes arranged in horizontal alignment and vertical air vents disposed between adjacent holes, said; mouthpiece being formed in its mold contacting face with a plurality of superposed horizontally disposed grooves distinct from the metal discharge holes and located above the level o1,-the air vents but having no direct communica- 10 tion therewith in the mouthpiece.

- CHAUNCESfH. GRIFFITH. 

